The Philadelphia Flyers (30-36-9) got their second victory in a row following the firing of head coach John Tortorella, 7-4. Meanwhile, the Buffalo Sabres (30-36-6) had their three-game winning streak extinguished.
Related: 5 Flyers Head Coaching Candidates to Replace John Tortorella
With both teams all but eliminated from playoff contention, fans’ eyes are on the 2025 NHL Draft. The Sabres maintained their fourth-worst spot in the league, while the Flyers moved up one to sixth-worst.
Game Recap
Just a bit over five minutes into the first period, Matvei Michkov opened the scoring for the Flyers. His 2-on-1 strike came courtesy of Travis Konecny and Egor Zamula. It was Konecny’s 70th point of the season, the first time he’s reached that mark.
Jakob Pelletier scored his first goal as a Flyer just 29 seconds later to double his team’s lead. Owen Tippett and Ryan Poehling put up assists.
Getting the Sabres back in the game was Jack Quinn, with a tad under 11 minutes gone in the opening frame. JJ Peterka and Ryan McLeod chipped in with assists.
While the scoring surge by both sides halted for the rest of the period, Buffalo took less than two minutes to tie the game once the second began. Peterka found the back of the net courtesy of feeds from Quinn and Peyton Krebs. About seven minutes later, they got their first lead of the afternoon on the power play. Quinn made it a three-point day with his goal, while McLeod and Owen Power joined the fun with assists.
Michkov, from Konecny, knotted the contest back up, 3-3. That marked the rookie’s second two-goal game since Tortorella’s dismissal on Thursday.
SILKY SMOOTH. #BUFvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/JaKvlilOP0
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 29, 2025
Putting the Flyers back on top was Noah Cates, on a feed from Tyson Foerster. Both forwards will be free agents in the 2025 offseason.
After an energetic second period, Tippett got his 20th goal in the third on the power play. Getting helpers were Olle Lycksell and Jamie Drysdale. Foerster further extended the Flyers’ lead to make it 6-3, courtesy of Bobby Brink and Cates.
The teams weren’t done yet, though. On a Flyers power play, the two clubs traded tallies. One was a shorthanded goal from Alex Tuch, and the other was a power-play goal by Ryan Poehling. Tuch’s goal was assisted by McLeod, while Poehling’s was made possible by Cates, making it 7-4.
Between the pipes, it…
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